Good Morning and Happy Friday! Tesla is emerging as the clear winner from Trump’s proposed auto tariffs. A federal judge gave the green light to NYT’s lawsuit against OpenAI over copyright concerns. RFK Jr. is slashing 10,000 jobs at the U.S. Health Department, and Musk says DOGE is aiming to wrap up $1 trillion in cuts by the end of May.

Wall Street is gearing up for a strong year, even as tariffs and inflation fears put M&A activity on hold. Egg producer Hillandale was acquired for $1.1 billion as U.S. egg prices finally fall. Meanwhile, AI has minted $71 billion in collective wealth for 29 founders.

Plus: Disgraced Nikola Motor founder Trevor Milton claims he was pardoned by Trump, Peyton Manning sold a stake in his media company at a $750M valuation, and how Robinhood is taking on Bank of America, Citi, and JPMorgan.

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_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Park Ave is Back

While the broader New York office market is still nursing its pandemic wounds, Park Avenue, long the beating heart of Wall Street, is booming again. And it’s not just nostalgia. The capital of finance over the next 50 years won’t be Miami, Dallas, or Connecticut, it’s still Midtown Manhattan.

Park Avenue’s vacancy rate just dropped to 8.9%, its lowest level since 2018, less than half of Manhattan’s 16.1% average. Rents are now pushing past $200 per square foot, with trophy buildings like the Seagram Building (home to Centerbridge Partners, Advent International, and Blue Owl Capital) approaching 100% leased.

Landlords just two blocks over on Third Avenue are slashing rents by up to 75% but tenants are still choosing the prestige of a Park Ave address.

JPMorgan Chase is investing $3 billion into a brand-new, 60-story HQ opening this summer that will house 10,000 employees. Nearby, Citadel has moved into 425 Park Ave, while Churchill Asset Management inked a lease at the Seagram Building after passing on cheaper options elsewhere.

More mega-projects are on the way. 350 Park Avenue (1.8 million sq ft) just entered the public review process, and 175 Park Avenue, a $6 billion development slated to be the tallest commercial building in the Western Hemisphere, is targeting a 2032 debut.

Hudson Yards tried to steal Park Ave’s thunder, but since the pandemic, at least three tenants have relocated from Hudson Yards back to Park Avenue. When Wells Fargo left the Seagram building, the owner poured $30 million into upgrading it with an outdoor terrace and a climbing wall, boxing ring, basketball courts, yoga and a spinning studio, and it looks like that’s paid off with Seagram close to capacity.

The new Grand Central Madison LIRR terminal has also supercharged foot traffic, with retailers like NAYA and Joe & the Juice seeing lunch lines out the door and sales doubling YoY. Midtown Manhattan is truly back.

Takeaway: A Park Avenue address is still the ultimate clout card in finance. The density of top-tier firms is unmatched, and more deals go down in a few blocks on and around Park Avenue than anywhere else in the world. Hudson Yards might have the nicest Equinox but that’s about it as far as Park Avenue is concerned.

_{PRESENTED BY HEBBIA}

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• GameStop shares drop on planned debt issue to buy Bitcoin (CNBC)

• Why Tesla and Elon Musk don’t see auto tariffs as a problem (YF)

• Car prices will surge by tens of thousands of dollars under new tariff rules (CNN)

• Wall Street poised for strong year, despite market volatility (Axios)

• Federal judge allows New York Times' OpenAI lawsuit to proceed (Fox)

• U.S. Health Department plans 10,000 job cuts as RFK takes power (CNBC)

• U.S. egg producer Hillendale acquired for $1.1 billion (Axios)

• Robinhood is taking on Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan (YF)

• DOGE caucus leader demands crackdown on thousands of IRS staffers who owe taxes (Fox)

• The new billionaires of the AI boom (BB)

• Nvidia to anchor CoreWeave IPO at $40 a share (CNBC)

• DeepSeek’s impact on AI spending boom has barely begun (CNBC)

• Record-breaking amount of student loans marked delinquent (Axios)

• Why GM stock is getting hit the hardest by Trump auto tariffs (CNBC)

• Americans nervous over finances (LI)

• Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions sells 10% stake at $750M valuation (CNBC)

• Trump says he may lower China tariffs on certain condition (Fox)

• Nikola’s Trevor Milton says he has been pardoned by Donald Trump (FT)

• Apple AI isn't the letdown - AI is the letdown (CNN)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks Nudge Down After Auto Tariff News, but Economy’s Still Smirking

U.S. stocks dipped Thursday after Trump’s Wednesday announcement of a 25% tariff on non-U.S.-made cars and parts—USMCA imports are tariffed only on non-U.S. content.

Ford and GM took a hit, but consumer staples and health care sectors kept the market from a bigger tumble, staying in the green for the week.

Asia markets were mixed overnight, Europe traded lower as tariffs stung, and the 10-year Treasury yield edged up to 4.36%.

Jobless claims held at 224,000, barely budging from last week, proving the labor market’s still got swagger—well below the 30-year median.

Trade spotlight: April 2’s reciprocal tariffs are next, with hints of a lighter touch (maybe room to haggle), but uncertainty keeps markets twitchy.

International large-caps are up nearly 10% this year, U.S. bonds up about 2%—diversify and pounce on quality during dips, because choppy waters are coming.

Economy’s no downer: Q4 GDP was revised up to 2.4% from 2.3%, showing 2025 kicked off strong.

With steady jobless claims, we’re in a mid-cycle pause, not a recession flop—tariffs might sting, but the U.S. economy’s still chuckling, ready to dodge the next curveball.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Concentrix ($CNXC) +42% after the business processing outsourcing stock beat earnings.

• (+) Petco ($WOOF) +32% because the pet retailer raised its guidance.

• (–) GameStop ($GME) -22% after the meme stock issued debt to buy Bitcoin.

Private Dealmaking

• Global Eggs acquired Hillendale for $1.1 billion 

• Nexthop AI, a networking solutions developer, raised $110 million

• Also, a micromobility startup, raised $105 million

• Underdog, a fantasy sport and betting app, raised $70 million 

• Epicrispr Biotechnologies, a biotech, raised $68 million

• Good Good Golf, a golf media and lifestyle brand, raised $45 million

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Win the Inside Game

Striving is in our nature. We all want to perform at our best when it matters most. But in today's world, many of us feel lost, isolated, and overwhelmed. We're paralyzed by fear of failure and crippled by insecurities. We know we’re capable of more, yet no matter how hard we try, we feel stuck. We’ve been sold the wrong path to success and personal fulfillment.

Renowned performance scientist and bestselling author Steve Magness reveals a new path to sustainable success. In Win the Inside Game, Magness argues that excellence and fulfillment are not mutually exclusive; we can and should seek both.

When we measure our worth by our achievements, cement our identities to our careers, and sacrifice our well-being in the pursuit of external validation, it backfires. We default to survival mode, protecting and defending ourselves instead of being free to fulfill our potential.

In this, his most personal book yet, Magness draws on his vast wealth of experience as an Olympic coach and whistleblower, highly popular consultant, and premier expert on performance, as well as scientific findings, interviews, and case studies, to provide a three-part framework to help us learn to focus on what really matters and achieve success.

“When we’re under threat, we focus on eliminating the negative feeling, instead of solving the actual problem. It’s why we self-sabotage.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Tesla Clear Winner in Auto Tariffs

Price increases needed to offset a 25% tariff

_{WHAT ELSE TO READ}

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_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Money Mindsets

From childhood, gender norms sneak into our financial habits—boys often pushed to earn big, girls to save tight.

Men might splurge extra cash on hobbies, women on family needs, reflecting deep-rooted roles.

Debt hits differently too: men tie it to identity, feeling like failures, while women spiral into shame, torn between frugality and self-care.

These aren’t quirks—they’re social scripts dictating how we earn, spend, and stress.

To break free, map your “money story”—what values shaped you?

Do traditions, not preferences, steer your choices?

Awareness flips the script, letting you ditch outdated norms for intentional decisions.

Couples should split the mental load evenly, aiming for fairness over stereotypes.

It’s not just gender—values and experiences play in—but knowing the game helps you play it better, with a sly wink at society’s old rules.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• 4 bad management behaviors that drive good employees away

• How passwords helped a CEO boost success

• Top 3 things Warren Buffett recommends splurging on

• The importance of repetition in the workplace

• 3 pitfalls to avoid as power shifts back to employers

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day